Things I Bike About

Week Four

January 31st, 2021
Chattahoochee, Florida

This week started with a host named Peter from near Sarasota. Sadly, I didn’t get to take a picture together as I left early in the morning. He travels a lot to Asian countries and makes calendars based on his travels that he gives to people he's met along the way. We also fixed his cruiser bike. All in all, a good experience.

Then it was on to Tampa. I continued on the Tamiami (FL-41) north until I hit Tampa. I have been to Tampa before, so I wasn't too sad to not find a host there. I did local a couple bike shops for tubes and spacers for my headset. It is now officially as high as it can go and I'm happy to report that it works amazingly! I sadly lost my gloves in Fort Myers, but I honestly haven't needed them for comfort, as the ergo grips are finally pulling their weight. I still want some just for sweat and general purpose, but still. It's nice not to need them.

It was on to St. Petersburg to stay with Hagen and Sydney. They are medical students in their residency and had so many great stories to tell about the many challenges they face. Who doesn't love a good, gross out medical story? Hagen also talked about and showed me pictures of his motorcycle trip that they had taken on their break. I always joke and say that if I give up on the bike trip, I'll restart with a motorcycle. They're adventure with a super loaded down Honda gave me confidence that I could potentially do the same.

Hagen and Sydney used couch surfing on their trip and were trying to pay it forward. I was more than happy to be recipient of that karma. Also, of a gallon sized bag of Cheese-It's, which I sadly didn't get a picture of. Long story short, Hagen is a master haggler, so he was able to get a garbage bag full of them through Facebook Market Place. They insisted I take some with me. And for the next three days, my palate was blessed with that cheesy goodness. Sure, I may not want to eat another Cheese-It for the next 20 years, but on the road, they are little squares of joy. Squirrels like them too!

After that, I was in for some solo days on the road, as the next large city was Tallahassee and there wouldn't be a surf for a while.

The trek started amazingly, taking the Pinellas Trail which finishes near Tarpon Springs. Just a gorgeous trail all around. I didn't get any pictures, as nothing struck me, but it was such a blissful way to start the day.

I landed that day somewhere near Homosassa Springs. I found a great stealth camp near an abandoned yacht. I was a little weary, as I did see some masks and graffiti on the yacht that suggested it was new-ish. But there was also a small grown over trail system which I followed until I could find some even ground. That's when I met this feller.

The next day was an all day headwind that really put a damper on things. I still ended up getting around 50 miles, but I hadn't experienced headwinds this bad since the keys. This did suck, but it more reminded me of what is to come and how I'm going to continue to persevere through tough days like this one. And luckily, it was only one day but I know they'll be days, maybe even weeks of this in my future. The real trick to them, so far for me, was just to lower your mileage expectations and gear down. You can't control the wind, but you can control how you react to it. You also never know when the wind will hit. I checked the weather for the next day, all seemed good. So, I embrace an attitude that there will be a headwind any day, or at least, any time of the day. Hope for the best, expect the worst.

The next day, I landed in Chiefland, where I met Roger. Roger was in the midst of his own bike trip. He is 70 years old and has been toured from north of Orlando to Colorado Springs 6 times! You can find his adventures on Facebook or YouTube. Roger was really an inspiration, saying that it's taken his 7 years to dial in his gear, making sure it suits him for everything he's doing. He says he's the kind of guy who has to try his gear, regardless of any reviews. I couldn't agree more. It was great to hear this after some of my gear failure and all the tweaking I've done thus far. Finding what works is also a journey, one side by side with the physical one you're taking. I just hope to be in the same kind of shape Roger is at his age.

The next day started me off with the Nature Coast State Trail. It may have beaten the previous bike trail only because there seemed to be kitties out doing their morning routines along the way.

I landed somewhere northwest of Perry after the coldest night I've encountered thus far. It was in the low-30's, and it felt like it! Luckily, my gear is rated near that, so with some layering it was doable. After that, it was to Tallahassee!

Sadly, not much to report here. I did have a surf that flaked out so I didn't stay to long here. I also didn't know that this where the hills began! In some spots, it reminded me of Denver, just hills coming out of nowhere. Was this the idea behind putting the capitol here? Sadly, I didn't visit the history museum to find out.

It was hilly coming in and all the way until Quincy, Florida they stopped. Luckily, they were all but a few rewarding hills, meaning they had a nice downhill to reward you grinding up them. But they picked up in my last stop this week, Chattahoochee.

I spent the night with Stephen and his roommate Jacob who were awesome folks. Stephen is a plumber and Army veteran. Him and his father have done large bike tours in the past, so he very much knows the highs and lows I went through this week. On top of being an ace host, he also had two puppers that I got to cuddle with. Kilo is the pit bull and has heterochromia, which is ironic because I used to live with a pit bull whose name was Bowie, after David Bowie who also had heterochromia (but that dog didn't). And the other dog, Shelia, although not as cuddly, had a case of resting puppy dog face. Every time you looked at her it was like she did something wrong. You did nothing wrong, sweet girl.

As the week closed out, I did nearly 90+ miles on Sunday. My knees are feeling it, especially some of the hills that came up. I'll likely take the coastal route to Pensacola, to avoid more hills. Yes, this may be the cowards way out but I also want to get one last little test of Florida coast before I say goodbye to the state.

Ahh, saying goodbye to Florida. I know it's arbitrary, but crossing that state line is something I've been looking forward to.

As I've said in previous posts, the budget was a bit blown out this month. I'm generally trying to keep within $800 to $900 per month. Some of this is expected, as the beginning of every trip always has unaccounted expenses and things to adjust. I just hope next month, things can even out a bit. Some of this is on me, especially opting for a comfy hotel in lieu of a stealth camp. Some of it's just my comfort, but some of it is me not finding a good enough spot before night fall. I did have some practice this week setting up in the dark, but it's not ideal. Either way, stealth camping and surfing are always preferred. If a hotel is sub-50, which a couple of them were,

As far as food, These last couple weeks I've been pigging out a bit. Especially this last week. As hills and things come, I'll have find balance in how many calories I need to be taking in, while not overdoing it. It's always going to be the case for me that it's easy to over do it, especially on cheap junk.

Finally, gear. The biggest one is getting a new frame bag (it's been ordered and will be sent out to a post office when the time is right). But little things like tubes, stem spacers, etc. got to me this month. Hopefully, these will be one time expenses as the trip goes on. I'm sure they'll be more gear ahead but hopefully none that'll put me so overbudget as it did this month.

Bike Trip Expenses for January

Food: $311.64

Gear: $427.42

Phone: $26.60

State/National Park Camping or Entrance Fees: $45.00

Hotel/Motel: $373.53

Total: $1,184.19

Miles:

Approximately 1,204

**The following is rant based on some things I've been thinking about. I won't be sad if you skipped it. In fact, you probably should**

At any given point this week, while biking along, typically when things are a little unsavory but mostly when things are mundane, I get the thought of "What am I doing? This is stupid, why did I give up such a kosher thing in Denver" and some machination of that thought. I feel this is very normal. In fact, I would joke with Sar, prior to the trip, that I'd be riding along and have those very thoughts. So yes, I can predict the future!

I haven't had these thoughts so dark and so frequently to really feel it was time to pack it in. In fact, they typically flee when I'm riding as the sun sets, or I end the night with nature on full auditory display. These things and many others are almost always a guaranteed way to lift spirits for another day. That said, I don't discount the looming presence of potential failure. Not just with this trip, but in my life in general.

I've always prided myself on being someone who makes goals and commits to those goals, both big and small. I wanted to finish graduate school, so I set a goal for myself and did it. I wanted to get down to 280 before the trip, so I did it. In light of these successes, it's easy to forget about the failure weaved within them. I missed grad school by a year, I've tried plenty of times to prior before the trip to cut weight, but I ended up gaining more. So on and so on. Any success you see, speaking for my own journey, is the result of tons of micro-failures along the way.

To fail is to learn. It's to be hurt, vulnerable, and sour about whatever it is you're trying not to fail at. These aren't good feelings. Failure, especially depending on how much we have riding on the thing we're trying not to fail at, can have a lot of weight. For some, that weight is a pressure that helps them develop in way so they can lift that weight to success. For others, that weight crushes them and potentially keeps them from trying to carry that weight again. For some still, they ascribe so little weight of failure that it's simply dust on their shoulders to dust away.

Personally, these days I tend to fall in the shoulder dusting camp. In the past, I've put some serious weight on things that really didn't warrant it. The time it took to recover, to get my head around moving on was so much, it disabled me from growing. I have no desire to revisit that state of being. In fact, I've found the less I revisit, the more mental and emotional energy I have to try to tackle the goal from a different angle. Only going back now and then to look at what I've learned, how I've grown versus what I felt, or versus what others thought of me as a result of that failure. The past is to learn from, not to live through.

Many see failure as a binary thing. They're right. You either did do the thing, or you didn't. But you zoom in just a little, you'll see cracks immediately. Was it exactly how you said you were going to? Did you have to modify it? If so, isn't that just taking a different route? Were there any compromises? Did you regret not doing X, Y or Z this way? Not really sticking to our goals, are we? You can see where this is going. It's a real Ship of Theseus problem, even if we'd like to pretend it all lined up perfectly. Because life always does that, right?

There will always be some gatekeeping types who want to put their experience in your shoes, regardless of whether the fit or not. It's good to hear them out, for two reasons. The first is that it's often well intentioned, generally speaking. Someone sharing their experiences of something you're trying to do is a sign that they care and want to help. They don't want you to make mistakes they did, or avoid mistakes you could be making. How it comes out, of course, is a different story. Unsolicited advice, saying you "need" to do something and not listening to any counters are hard to sort through, but the second reason, is where the gold is. Wisdom. Yes, just like panning for gold, sometimes the mud has to be washed away in order to get the gold. If there is a tip, a trick, a good piece of advice to take, then by golly take it. Its yours now.

I've always been more of a journey guy. Sure, it'll be cool to say I biked across the U.S., the whole shebang. It'll make for a great story. Everyone will look at you with the romance they project upon a trip like this and see only the sunsets, the cool conversations with hosts, the cooling downhills. It may encourage others to do likewise. Your ego gets a bump. Great!

If you fail? They will look at you with the cold, hard understanding of something attempted, with the reality of the thing. The horrible headwinds and uphill's, or some other imagined tragedy. Your ego may get a hit, but it's the truth. Over time, like all failures, or bad experiences in general, you'll learn to live with it, learn from it, and then laugh from it. Yes, I know what I said. Live, laugh, love...before it was co-opted by basic Karen's around the world, it actually was a good book and philosophy!

Both the romantic and the realistic eyes that gaze upon you are the same. But guess what? Failure or not, you get to keep all that experience, all that you collected. Its yours now, forever and ever. You can let it define you however you want.

There is one exception to failure I will stand firm on, and that is trying. To never try is the truest failure. My motto for so long has been did you try trying? So many folks don't attempt something because, again, we see that pressure rearing its head. Whether it's social or internal, they say, forget it, I don't want look foolish in front of those I respect. Well, look foolish. Look like a damn fool. Fail. Try. It's the only way anything has ever gotten done.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go fail my diet and eat some pop tarts my host has graciously offered me.

In this section, I want to talk about things that have really helped me and things that have frustrated me, both surprising and expected. Here are some from this week:

Headwinds:

• Actual headwinds - Hit some pretty good ones this week. It sucked, but it was more a reminder of how they can put a damper on your spirit and your plans.

• Gear failure - My frame pack decided it's plastic zipper didn't want to keep functioning. I've always had problems with this thing and it finally failed. I'm still using it because there is no other choice. As previously mentioned, I lost my gloves as well. Really have no idea what happened as I lost them at a surfers house. Oh well. I have stuff on order, but I just hate spending money on stuff that should work. But for touring, this is the way.

• Flats - Got a couple this week and one was my own fault. I did a visual inspection on the tire but didn't do a feel test (which I usually do). So, put the new tube in, flat again, same spot. Oh, Aaron...rookie mistakes. I don't know if it was the miles or cold setting in that caused this brain fart, but as a consequence, I'm looking into tire lining solutions.

Tailwinds:

• Publix Condiments - I may have already shared this but Publix always has the best condiments. But the real winner came in a Publix in Tampa where they had horseradish packets. I grew to love this stuff over the last year or so, so it was really nice to get that little sting on all my stuff. I know packets aren't the most environmentally friendly thing in the world, but they travel light and keep.

• Fresh Avocado - I experimented adding one of these to my canned veggies. That, some mayo and mustard and it is a game changer. They're small, they keep and if you can get the ones about to turn, they're cheap. $.50 well spent!

• Bike trails - Just want to reiterate how awesome it is to take these when you can. Especially first starting the day, really doesn't get any better.